Macon officials hope releases, free ankle monitors will help reduce jail issues

Up to 150 detainees will soon be released from the Bibb County Jail — with ankle monitors — in an attempt to cut overpopulation and ease a trend of worsened living conditions at the facility, Mayor Lester Miller announced Tuesday.

Overcapacity and short staffing has played a role in deaths and inhumane conditions at the jail. The facility has also faced public backlash after detainees were incarcerated for too long, Miller said. Miller directly addressed concerns about incarcerated people sitting idle in the jail while waiting for their court case to be resolved.

“We must eliminate a two-tier justice system where individuals who can afford it are at home, while those that cannot are in jail,” Miller said at a press conference at City Hall Tuesday. “We are leveling that field by absorbing the cost of community monitoring.”

How Macon will cover costs for ankle monitors

One-hundred-fifty incarcerated people facing nonviolent charges will soon be eligible for release and given free ankle monitors, as long as they work and/or receive any necessary mental health treatment, Miller announced.

“That’s 150 people that have an opportunity to support their families, their kids (and) not be in cell blocks with more violent offenders,” Miller said of the new initiative, which is called Macon Justice Works.

Electronic ankle monitors normally cost offenders $10 per day, and $150 to register. Incarcerated people often pay for monitors for long periods as part of parole or probation.

Macon-Bibb County will pay these costs at a discounted rate of about $6.75 per day with no registration fee, a discount which was negotiated with AI Monitoring, a public safety monitoring company.

The county government will use $500,000 from its public safety budget to cover these costs, according to Miller.

There were 1,018 people detained at the jail as of Tuesday, Miller said, which was 52 more than its capacity, according to Bibb County Sheriff David Davis. Its population has increased by about 40 inmates since the start of May.

The benefits of releasing suspects

Allowing a person to be released from jail and monitored reduces their likelihood of being involved in criminal activity again, according to a 2011 study by the U.S. Department of Justice.

County taxpayers will save about $2.5 million with 150 less people in the jail, according to Miller.

The county will only consider incarcerated people who have been in jail for one to two months with a “very minimal bond” and are not considered a risk to the public, Miller said.

He said he plans to “start making a dent in the next 30 days” in the number of people released.

The jail also will undergo a 30-day audit, starting this week, to identify inmates’ needs, charges, length of stay and eligibility for the free monitor program.

An expansive group of local law enforcement and crime prevention officials, called the Macon Justice and Wellness Task Force, will use the audit results to track and recommend programs to improve jail conditions. The task force, which will report to Macon Violence Prevention, will also plan ways to expedite the probation process.

The task force includes Major Chris Patterson – who leads the jail, District Attorney Anita Howard, county Solicitor General Rebecca Liles Grist, county Public Defender Rick Waller, Chief Judge of Superior Court in Macon’s Judicial Circuit Phillip T. Raymond III, county Probate Judge Sarah Harris, Clinical Director of River Edge Behavioral Health Cass Hatcher, Macon Violence Prevention Coordinator Jeremy Grissom, and a recidivism representative to help transition incarcerated people out of jail.

The task force will also include a detainee from the jail “to make sure that our inmates are properly represented,” Miller said.

Increased mental health support

The Bibb County Law Enforcement Center will also begin a Jail-Based Competency Restoration Program for incarcerated people deemed incompetent to stand trial, Miller announced.

This will implement improved mental health and legal education services within the jail.

Miller, a former lawyer, recalled when a former client was incarcerated for multiple months, and lost his job and license, but went back to work anyway despite having to drive illegally to do so.

“He didn’t know about the suspended license or didn’t care about it because he had to support his family,” Miller said. “So he chose to do what?”

“Drive,” said Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones.

Miller hopes this new recidivism program helps prevent people from being charged again.

It will also reduce wait times for detainees to be placed in state hospitals, and treated with outpatient or overnight care when possible.

Similar programs exist in Fulton, Cobb, Chathom and Dodge counties.

Another initiative called the Macon InReach Program will connect people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to housing, jobs and treatment. River Edge Behavioral Health, which unveiled a crisis center behind the jail last week, will provide “wraparound service and case management that many of these folks desperately need,” Miller said.

This story was originally published June 10, 2025 at 3:45 PM.